Sheila Bair, former FDIC chairman, says Dodd-Frank may, in fact, have killed “too big to fail” by giving the deposit-insurance agency new authority to take control of a bank-holding company, keep its healthy arms alive and put the rest into receivership. [Fortune]

Paul Krugman very much approves of Japan’s new monetary aggressiveness. Quoting a widely cited paper he wrote 15 years ago, he says the Bank of Japan just may have “credibly promised to be irresponsible” – that is, it has convinced people it won’t freak out at the first signs of good economic news even if inflation materializes. [New York Times]

In a sign that some prominent conservatives aren’t backing Sen. Pat Toomey in his effort to find a bipartisan compromise on gun-purchase background checks, Charles C.W. Cooke writes that the compromise puts the issue on a “slippery slope” on which the legislation exemptions for some kinds of gun transactions will slowly be eroded in subsequent congressional action. [National Review] Read More »

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.